18 Feb 2026
From Commonwealth Gold to British and Commonwealth Champion, Sean Murphy was the last great fighter to come out of St Albans, boxing as a professional between 1986 and 1994.
But now a new contender has entered the competitive ring and could become the district’s first breakout talent in 30 years.
Featherweight Christian Fetti started boxing at St Albans and London Colney Amateur Boxing Club when he was just 12. He subsequently won three national titles as an amateur before making the move into the professional sport in 2022.
Now 23, he faces his first title fight at the legendary York Hall in Bethnal Green on February 28, where he will be boxing for the Commonwealth Youth Title.
We sat down with Christian and dad Stuart to find out more about the hopes and aspirations of this up-and-coming young pugilist, and hopefully rally more local support for his imminent bout.
The former Samuel Ryder Academy pupil, who lives in Colney Heath, said only became interested in the sport when his family moved here from north London, but he stresses that even though his dad and granddad were both fans, there was no pressure to pick up the gloves.
“Nobody pushed me into it, which I think in the long run meant it became a passion where I chased it on my own two feet rather than having someone pushing me from behind.
“When we moved up here I was playing football, but I didn’t overly love it, and a boy at Samuel Ryder who was boxing invited me along one day. That was all she wrote.”
After leaving school he worked for two years as assistant site manager on a construction site in Deptford, but eventually realised it wasn’t the life he wanted, and made the move into professional boxing after being told he had the potential to go far.
“I thought I was good at boxing, but I was always told I was really good. Johnny Murphy [Sean Murphy’s dad who used to coach at St Albans] saw me and said I would make an unbelievable pro.
“Being modest, I always say I’m good, but everyone else used to say, ‘You can do better’.”
Unfortunately just as he was preparing for the move, the Covid pandemic hit, which put the brakes on his progression, but did allow him plenty of time to train at home.
Dad Stuart explains: “Obviously we had nothing to do, but as we’re an active family we set up some circuits in the garden, and Christian and I got back into doing pads, which resparked his drive and realisation that he was making the right choice to turn pro.”
But becoming a professional boxer is not just a matter of turning up for work at the ring, you have to apply for a licence and meet with the British Boxing Board of Control.
“They ask you lots of questions,” says Christian. “What made you want to get into boxing? Why is boxing the sport for you? And so on and so forth…”
Stuart adds: “Then you’ve got to find someone who is willing to take you on. Because there’s no money in it for a coach with a new prospect, so you have to convince them to take you on.
“Most of them have full stables [boxers they are training] so you’ve got to walk in there and show them something special to encourage them to invest their time. If that happens you’ll get invited down to spar for maybe three, four rounds.
“They’ll be able to look at you and tell. You know, there’s a lot of heart in boxing, so a couple of times they’ll put you in with an experienced fighter, someone who can really overwhelm you, to see if you’ve got a bit of grit. In Christian’s earliest spar he was in with someone who jumped on him, and they wanted to see if he would get overwhelmed or go forward, and he went forward, and that showed them some ingredients to worth with.”
Christian is fortunate enough to be trained by John Ryder, who competed between 2010-2024 and held an interim super-middleweight world title twice, and fought the acclaimed Canelo Álvarez.
Christian is full of praise: “Apart from the training, we get on really well as people. He said that he saw something in me.”
So what is it that all of these experienced fighters have seen in Christian? What talents does he have which lift him above the average and into the status of potential champion?
“I think I’m a very exciting fighter,” he says, modestly though, without any underlying arrogance.
“I turn up to have a fight and that gets the crowd going, but I can also jab, I can box, and I do have really good boxing IQ, so I might see something in round one but not exploit it until round four.
“It’s chess not chequers. Don’t give it away, let him settle into it and only later do you delivery that shot. If you expose it too early then he’ll start covering.”
Fighting in his weight class, Christian also needs to be nimble: “You’re fast on your feet, fast with your hands, fast in your head. Everything’s got to be fast and you’ve got to be sharp, but at the end of the day that’s the name of the game isn’t it?
“You know your opponent will be thinking that as well, so you’ve got to be better, and that’s how my head goes, I will always be the best version of myself.”
Achieving this objective requires a gruelling training regime, which on this particular morning involved hill sprints at 7 o’clock in the morning at a location used by many famous boxers including Conor Benn and Johnny Fisher: “To put it simply, it’s a killer, by the end of it your legs are smashed and you feel like you’re going to throw up. But it is what it is, and two hours later I was in the gym hitting pads!
“It’s very intense training. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are sparring days, Tuesdays and Thursdays we have runs in the morning, and Saturdays I see my strength and conditioning coach, who will be looking at training for fast twitch muscles, strength, stability and stamina – like I said earlier, being faster on your feet.
“But it’s the life I chose, it’s what I want to do and I enjoy every minute of it.”
Christian trains alongside a quality stable of fighters, including Jimmy Sains (English middleweight champion since October 2025), George Lillard (the youngest ever British middleweight champion), Fisher, Benn, Maisie Rose Courtney – arguably Britain’s elite boxing talent.
When he’s not training he can often be found in the kitchen preparing meals that are high in protein and carbs and low in fats to ensure he receives the essential tools for recovery at the end of the dayL “The fight is easy, getting there is hard.”
As you can imagine, there’s also very little time off, although after a big fight he will try to take a week to settle himself and get back to reality, before heading straight back into the gym.
“It’s a full time job. When you’re sparring it’s against people from other boxing gyms who are the other best prospects in the country, so they’re like mini-competitions and they sharpen you up.
“Everyone’s watching your form, so you’re always trying to excel and you have to be on point. If you’re tired one day, you’d better turn up and act like you’re not tired, because if you get in the ring and you’re not feeling it, and the other bloke is, then…”
Pow.
The upcoming Commonwealth Youth Title bout will be Christian’s first title fight as a professional boxer, and hopefully a stepping stone to get into the higher fights.
“I’m well excited about it to be honest!” he says.
Dad Stuart jumps in: “It’s a big opportunity for him. It’s a Commonwealth feud, so on paper it’s a 50-50 fight where the opponent will be someone that the Board of Control says is a good match-up.
“But obviously we know Christian’s ability, we know his pedigree, we know the training he’s had, and for us this is just the next step in a long career.”
Although his opponent is believed to have already been set, it will be some time before Christian finds out who he will be fighting, and then it’s a case of preparatory work ahead of the actual clash.
“You watch the videos, you prepare yourself to fight that person, and my goal is just to be the best version of myself, and when I turn up on the night, I’m going to be an animal!”
Despite his relatively brief professional career to date, Christian is fortunate to have a massive amount of local support.
Stuart says: “For everybody who’s bought a ticket and supported Christian on his journey so far, we really thank them, because without their support we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“We’ve got a regular following of people who are really enjoying boxing. Some had never seen a match before, but after watching Christian fight they’re hooked, so it’s really exciting.
“You get to know him. He’s a local lad from their community. You’ll see him running through St Albans, you’ll see him in local gyms and shops. And the more people who come along helps Christian as well.”
Having the crowd behind him is definitely a morale booster for the young fighter, Stuart explains: “On the night when you’ve got your people there from St Albans and they’re roaring, there’s nothing like it – the hairs were just standing up on my arms, it was a bit of a wow moment.”
Christian adds: “Without these people putting their hands in their pockets to buy a ticket, I wouldn’t be here. So it’s my journey, but it’s also theirs. When I win this belt it will be ‘our’ belt.
“It’s not going to go to my head, it never will, I’m always just going to be who I am. I started out as a 12-year-old kid with a dream, and now I’m a young boxer actually living that dream.”
For tickets email cfettiboxing@outlook.com
All photos by Stuart Fetti
